Canada’s Adaskin Trio Shows Good Form in L.A. Debut

Add another threesome to the limited ranks of string trios who visit Southern California--the Adaskin String Trio from Canada. Named in honor of three Adaskin brothers (including composer Murray Adaskin) who are involved in the Canadian musical scene, the Adaskin Trio made its Los Angeles debut in the Chamber Music in Historic Sites series, hosted by the Da Camera Society of Mount St. Mary’s College, on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

Violinist Emlyn Ngai, violist Steve Larson and cellist Mark Fraser may not have been heard under optimum conditions, though, for their collective tone seemed a bit parched and short on luster--possibly a result of the Guasti Villa entrance hall’s nonresonant acoustics. They did, however, display good balance, sufficient drive and precision in Beethoven’s String Trio in C minor, Opus 9, No. 3, even in the raucous fortissimos. They also brought a sweetness to the pleasant, classical, one-movement torso of Schubert’s unfinished String Trio in B flat, D. 471.

Most encouragingly, the Adaskin Trio members like to dig through dusty archives in search of rare repertory, and on this occasion they brought forth something they found in a Montreal library, “String Trio on Ashkenazic Themes” (1946) by the Dutch composer Englebert Rontgen (no apparent relation to the physicist who discovered X-rays). In the first three of its five movements, the piece flowed and dashed along in an agreeable romantic manner, but only achieved distinction when the solo cello sounded forth an impassioned Hebraic melody, leading to an affirmative closing chorale.